British Curriculum

As we are currently offering a part-time course of study, we are not able to teach the full British National Curriculum and are therefore focusing on the core disciplines of Literacy and Numeracy, while also including a daily P.E. lesson. However, Literacy gives us the opportunity to branch into other subjects, such as History, Geography, Science or even Art & Design, that would normally be allocated their own place in the timetable. In addition, we monitor and guide a child’s wider personal development, as is required by the curriculum, and report on progress made termly.

In our Kindergarten & Lower Primary class, we proceed from teaching phonics and developing ability in listening and speaking with the beginners to reading texts as advanced as accessibility of the vocabulary will allow and writing clearly and accurately in terms of sense, spelling, grammar and punctuation with children who are making progress. Method includes songs, stories, discussions, comprehension work and creative expression.

At Upper Primary & Lower Secondary, we are enabling pupils to advance in grammar, particularly in the use of verb tenses, and widen their vocabulary, as well as improve in pronunciation and voice modulation. Units of study involve reading, discussion and written assignments, and cover a wide range of content, such as narratives, scientific topics or cultural phenomena. Use is made of audio-visual materials to enhance and focus understanding, and poetry recital or dramatic production to enhance articulation and instil greater confidence in speaking.

We begin with number recognition and formation in the Kindergarten and Lower Primary class and work our way up to division and an introduction to fractions via addition, subtraction and multiplication, including the times tables, in both their simple and longer forms. Elementary geometry, numerical place and value, and measurement are also taught.

With Upper Primary & Lower Secondary, we build from the elementary skills that are learnt at Lower Primary by either extending them or proceeding to more complex problems that can be found in trigonometry, algebra or statistics, for example. As with the younger class, there are pupils at different levels within the group and an approach of continuous review is adopted in support of the less capable or confident.

Under present arrangements, the whole school shares a single lesson to create a more competitive environment and greater opportunity for learning and development than would be possible with two smaller groups. Care is taken to structure activities so that younger children are able to participate at their level while still contributing to a team effort. Emphasis is on strengthening the motor skills through running, and throwing, catching, kicking or striking a ball via either formal sports or more improvised games.

We constantly monitor each child’s emotional, social and moral conduct, intervening to encourage or correct where necessary. A report on attitude, participation and ability to form relationships is made to parents termly. We teach the importance of hygiene, tidiness and organisation, as well as responsibility for one’s own property and respect for that of others.

We run a ‘healthy snack’ policy, whereby break-time refreshments containing an excess of sugar, salt or saturated fat are excluded and recommendations given about more nutritional alternatives. On environmental as much as health grounds, we will not permit any food to be brought to school in Styrofoam, and we request a non-disposable container is supplied for this purpose. Consumption of sweets is prohibited on the site at all times. For those children for whom we provide lunch, we offer a balanced meal typically of rice with meat or fish and plenty of vegetable.

We are an ecologically conscious school, recycling or reusing all materials we can. We take steps to acquaint our pupils with the different types of waste and where they should be placed, and emphasise the need to keep their learning space clean, both inside and outside the classroom. We cover environmental matters in our curriculum, particularly with reference to plastic pollution, a serious concern in Cambodia.